“That don’t sound too hard.”
“I want to know who he is,” Cramer said. “I want to know everything about him before I have you kill him.”
“All right.”
“And then, not until I give the word.”
“Okay.”
“How long will it take?” Cramer asked. “Gathering this information.”
“I got to send some telegrams,” Sutherland said. “Check some contacts. Probably a few days.”
“Fine,” Cramer said.
“What about our plans for the White Elephant?” Sutherland asked.
“Stay away from there for a while,” Cramer said. “And keep your men away. I’ll give the go-ahead when the time comes.”
“That it?”
“That’s all.”
Sutherland stood up, but didn’t leave.
“What?” Cramer asked.
“When am I gonna get the okay to take a run at Luke Short?”
“Soon,” Cramer said, “very soon, Sutherland.”
“Can’t be soon enough for me,” the gunman said, and left.
CHAPTER 18
Luke Short took Butler to eat in the White Elephant’s restaurant. Butler felt it was probably to prove the food was decent. He decided not to order steak. The place might suffer by comparison. Instead, he ordered a bowl of beef stew, which came piping hot with big chunks of meat and vegetables, and a basket of biscuits.
Luke Short had chicken.
“How is it?” he asked, pointing to the beef stew with his fork.
“Very good.” It was passable, at best, but Butler didn’t want to say so.
“I want to offer you a job,” Short said. “I want you on the payroll.”
“To do what?”
“Gamble,” Short said. “Play poker here.”
“You think I’m going to draw anyone? You need Bat, or Doc, or Ben Thompson for that.”
“Word will get around,” Short said. “We’ll get some comers.”
“And that’s all you want me to do? Gamble?”
“No,” Short said. “I want you to do what you did today. Watch my back.”
“You think Cramer will move against you?”
“As soon as—” he stopped himself.
“As soon as he checks me out,” Butler said.
“I’m sorry but, yes, he will check you out. You took two of his men out of the play this afternoon, and you saw him embarrassed.”
“So he’s going to come after me?”
“Likely, he’ll send somebody for both of us.”
“Any idea who?”
“There’s a few men I can think of,” Short said, “but he’ll import some talent to lead them.”
“I’m not a gunman, Luke.”
“You don’t have to be a gunman to handle a gun, Butler,” Short said. “I’m not hirin’ your gun. I’m hirin’ the whole package. All your talents.”
“Talents,” Butler said. “I’ve really only got two.”
“What are those?”
“Poker,” Butler said, “and getting myself wrapped in other people’s problems.”
“Yeah, Bat told me that about you, too.”
Over dessert Short asked, “So whataya say?”
“I suppose I could stay around for a while.”
“Good,” Short said. “Let’s talk about salary.”
“Whatever you think is fair,” Butler said, “but I get to keep all my winnings, right?”
“Definitely,” Short said. “I don’t want a cut of anything. I just want you around.”
“Why not send for Bat? Or Wyatt?”
“They’ve got their own lives,” Short said. “Sure, if they walked through the front door I’d press them into service, but I’m not going to put out a call for help. Not until I’m sure you and me can’t handle what comes along.”
“There’s one other thing I want before I say yes.”
“Oh? What’s that?”
“You’ve got to promise me you’ll sit down at a poker table with me, at least once, before I leave.”
“You want to test yourself against me?”
“I want to test myself against the best,” Butler said. “You know anybody else fits that description?”
Luke Short smiled and said, “Okay, you got a deal.”
CHAPTER 19
Now that Butler was on salary, Short offered him a room in the White Elephant, but he declined.
“I like where I am, and now that you’re paying me it’s almost like you’re footing the bill.”
“You’ve got a point,” Short said.
When they finished their meal they walked into the saloon.
“I’ve got to go upstairs and make sure everything is running smooth,” Short said.
“I’ll be around,” Butler said. “I don’t think you need me to be up your ass right now.”
“No,” Short said. “We’ve got Victor on the door. You met Victor, right?”
“Oh, right. He locked up after us. We thought he was asleep, but…”
“That’s Victor,” Short said. “He’s a lot more observant than people give him credit for.”
“How’s he with a gun?”
“Fair,” Short said, “just fair. But you can count on him in a fight.”
“Good to know. Anybody else?”
“I made sure our bartenders were good at more than just pouring drinks. Jerry you met, one of the others is Billy Catlett. Look to either of them if anything goes wrong.”
“Okay,” Butler said. “One more thing. Who’s the law in town?”
“That’d be Jim Courtwright,” Short said. “They call him Long-haired Jim. He and I don’t get along real good, but he seems to do his job.”
Short went up to the casino and Butler walked to the door, where Victor was still sitting like last time he’d seen him.
“I hear you’re on the payroll,” Victor said. “Glad to have ya.”
He put out his hand and Butler shook it.
“Heard you’re pretty good with a deck of cards,” Victor said. “But how about a gun?”
“I get by.”
“That’s good, because ain’t worth shit with a hogleg. Can’t hit the side of a barn.”
